Patrol

Georgia Deputy Shot in Arm Serving Warrant

Vincent Helmly faces charges in the shooting and standoff. (Photo: Chatham County SO)

A Chatham County, Ga., sheriff’s deputy is recovering after he was shot in the arm while serving a warrant Wednesday afternoon in Pooler — an incident that spurred a three-hour standoff with numerous law enforcement agencies, disrupted traffic and adjoining neighborhoods and caused several school buses to be rerouted.

The man who allegedly shot the deputy, Vincent Helmly, 25, surrendered just before 7:30 p.m. and was arrested without incident.

Cpl. Lester Ellerbe was entering the back entrance of Helmly’s Leah Drive residence off Quacco Road to issue a stalking warrant when Helmly fired a high-powered rifle at the officers.

Ellerbe was shot in the left arm, according to Pete Nichols, spokesman for the Chatham County Sheriff’s Office.

Helmly then barricaded himself in his house where police realized he was armed with multiple weapons, Savannahnow reports.

Scanner audio captured an officer’s account of what happened at the scene, CWBChicago reports: “Ten people surrounded me, indicating that they had firearms. And one person pulled him away from me, holding his waist, indicating that he would use a firearm against me.”

There were so many police officers, sheriff’s deputies and Highway Patrol troopers that the court appearance had to be moved out of Justice Court to Judge John Larson’s Courtroom Number Three on the third floor of the Missoula County Courthouse.

The vehicle pursuit ended in the town of Kittitas where Deputy Thompson was backed up by Officer Benito Chavez. The suspect exited the vehicle and exchanged shots with the two law enforcement officers.